The color yellow fits right in in bright, sunny days. And the best thing is that one can find all shades of yellow all around us. There’s the cool, luminous hue in the middle of a frangipani (plumeria), or the warm, hearty shade of an egg yolk.

In color psychology, yellow is a cheery, uplifting color. It symbolizes optimism and in small doses, it energizes one’s mood. There are days when we need a mental pick-me-up, and it’s wonderful that this color can provide this facility so easily.

It’s interesting to learn that in Native American culture, yellow symbolizes overcoming a challenge through unconditional love.

Picasso said this about the color: “There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun.”

Last week, I had orange on my mind. I was thinking of ways to update or change the look of my living room with the coming of fall.

I was not quite ready to give up the bright, sunny colors of summer, and I still wanted bright, uplifting hues in my surroundings. Then it occurred to me to add some orange decorative accents or accessories. After all, orange is a color that bridges the hot and cold seasons. It brings to mind the citrus of summer and the leaves of autumn.

Later, over the weekend, I read an article “Haute orange” in the Orange County Register where Cindy McNatt wrote that orange is the “it” color this season. Well, that’s nice to know. She quoted designer Amanda Malson as saying: “Orange is a vibrant color that has less intensity than red or yellow and actually a calming effect. We love using orange with a neutral base and pairing with hues of blue.”

Color psychology, which studies the effect of color on human feelings, moods and behavior, points out that orange can have a positive impact on one’s emotional state. Orange represents warmth, energy, exuberance and excitement. It is said to open up your emotions, and will stimulate activity and socialization.

It is also said that sometimes we are drawn to a color because we want to have the attribute that it represents. The exuberance of orange will be a good attribute to have as the days get shorter and nippier.

An orange item adds zest to a room. (Pic from photos8.com)

I bought this fabric to make cushion covers. I was drawn to its orange accents and the somewhat retro feel.

Color affects how our mind works. I have always been interested in color psychology, and how different colors can influence our moods and feelings.

I came across this study by a team at the University of British Columbia . It was published earlier this month and it highlights how the brain reacts to the colors red and blue. Red appears to improve a person’s attention to detail while blue inspires creativity.

The participants in the study were given a series of cognitive tests, involving computer screens colored either red or blue. When the tests were done on a red screen, the participants memorized more words.

Those who used blue computer screens to perform creative works scored much higher than those who used red screens. For instance, when told to think of different uses for a brick, the red group thought of practical things like building a house, whereas the blue group came out with other imaginative uses such as using the brick to make a paperweight or a pet scratching post.

Juliet Zhu, an assistant professor of marketing atthe University of British Columbia, who conducted the study with doctoral student Ravi Mehta, said in The New York Times: “If you’re talking about wanting enhanced memory for something like proofreading skills, then a red color should be used…”

But for “a brainstorming session for a new product or coming up with a new solution to fight child obesity or teenage smoking…then you should get people into a blue room.”

It’s probably impractical for most of us to find a red or blue room to work in. A more practical method is to surround ourselves with blue objects to ignite creativity and red ones for detail-oriented activities.

Personally, I find yellow to be a great color that sparks creativity and mental energy. In fact, in color psychology, yellow is associated with the sun, optimism, creativity and is said to stimulate the intellect. Even a small object, like a yellow mug or a bowl of lemons can have a positive effect.